Ready, Set, GAME!
by baka-neko-fan
Summary: L and Light decide to have a game night with a few guests! Insanity ensues!
1. Connect Four

Baka: Disclaimer- WE own NOTHING! Otherwise, it wouldn't really be a fan fiction now, would it? Co-written by Kyoka and baka-neko-fan! We are now known as Kyobaka!

Kyoka: This was, indeed, written at four o' clock in the morning, if that explains our insanity.

Baka: Though the idea hit us while we were completely sane, around nine at night, while playing Connect Four. (We don't own that either.) I was L, Kyoka was Light. (Who lost several times with the same method. L RULES!) On with the chapter~

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"So why the hell did I get sucked into this '_family_' game night again?" Mello looked oddly disheveled, and nobody was quite certain as to how Mello was convinced to join them. Silence ensued for several minutes, and Mello looked even angrier, especially when it was Near who broke that silence.

"Mello," The white haired boy reminded gently with his usual monotone voice, "We came because L asked us to." He truly did not know the answer himself, but, he assumed their esteemed mentor had some fantabulous reason.

"Well, I suggested to Yagami-kun that we enjoy a night of fun to… get to know each other, and he insisted upon inviting a few guests. Naturally, I also saw fit to invite a few of my own. The three of you were the first that came to mind." he answered, addressing Mello, Matt, and Near.

Matt, who had been completely consumed by the running man clad in red (AKA Mario) on his GameBoy, finally glanced up and nodded, "Sound reasonable," He murmured with a shrug. He was certain that Mello probably wouldn't have had a problem with it if Near hadn't been included in the invitation; the blonde always jumped at any opportunity to get closer to the scrawny man. "Mello," He addressed said boy calmly, "Do try to get along with Near for one night… Try to think of it as 'team-building.'"

L nibbled on his thumb; whether or not it was indicative of a good mood, or merely a force of habit was unbeknownst to the rest of the group. Misa looked excited just to cling to Light, while Matsuda was looking, more or less, enthused. (He had invited himself and, naturally, Light didn't object because he didn't really have any other friends that he wanted to invite.) "So what's the first game that we have to play?" Mello's tone was still irritable, though it had improved by a degree.

"Well, Light has graciously offered to let me choose our first game. I thought that we should play a game that I loved in my childhood; Connect Four."

Mello gaped, Near looked mildly interested, and Matt was fixated once again upon his GameBoy. "That game is only played by two people," Near commented, "Will we do a bracket tournament?"

"Yes, I suppose…" L answered, chewing on his thumb in a furtive manner.

"How will we begin?" Mello asked, his tone implying that he did not, by any means, want to be paired up with Near.

"Light and I will be paired up first; next, Matsuda and Matt; then, you and Near." At this, Mello's face darkened. "Watari and Misa, would you like to play together?"

Watari shook his head. "I think that I'll just watch."

Misa's face, if anything, brightened. "I'm just fine! I can watch Raito-kun!" she piped up, firmly attached to her 'boyfriend's' arm.

Mello glared at Near, "Cant' I be paired up with Matt instead?" He asked, sounding a bit more than annoyed.

"No," L replied blatantly, "This, as Matt stated previously, is a team-building exercise."

Matt, who was surprised to hear that he was actually right, glanced up from the screen once more. "Mello," He said coolly, "If you beat Near, I will probably face you in the next round."

"What are you trying to say?" Matsuda whined. He hated it when people implied that he was a loser.

"I guess you're right…" Mello muttered, completely ignoring Matsuda, "That idiot's not going anywhere."

"Hey," Matsuda piped up in the background. Mello ignored this.

L, ignoring the situation altogether, continued, "You'll see that we already have three tables set up, one for each pairing. If you will, please join your opponent and begin whenever you're ready."

L and Light stared wordlessly at each other, as if a sparks began to fly. Misa, although she clung to Light's arm still, was completely ignored. They sat down at the table and L began by dropping a black checker into the center slot.

"You know, Yagami-kun, you can tell a lot about a person from a Connect Four game." L said as Light thought about his strategy. "You can see, for instance, the true nature of a person. Kira probably has a distinctive style. Say, maybe a defensive style, much like yours." Their game continued with no clear-cut leader within the match.

"Is that how you think, Ryuuzaki?" Light made a sharp counterattack. "But certainly, Kira wouldn't be revealing his personality through a game of Connect Four. Kira isn't stupid, and that's besides the point--why would he even agree to play Connect Four?"

"Well, that's a good question, Yagami-kun, but I hardly anticipate that if you were Kira that you would turn down my offer to bond. Maybe, in doing so, you think that I might trust you enough to give you my true name which is, in fact, Luke Skywalker."

"Very funny, Ryuuzaki," he answered dryly. "But if I was Kira, and I'm only saying _if_, I wouldn't expect you to give me your name just because we played a game of Connect Four." However, inside his head, he cursed at L's conclusion.

"But this isn't just a game of Connect Four, Yagami-kun. I believe that we agreed upon a game _night._"

"Fine," he answered, and blocked a Connect Four yet again, and, in fact, filled in the last blank space. "It looks like it's a tie, huh?"

"Near," Mello spat as the younger boy sat down across from him, twirling a lock of his white hair around a slender finger.

"Yes?" Near questioned, knowing full well that Mello would probably either threaten him or tell him that he hated him. Either way, the words were meaningless… At least in Near's eyes.

"I'm finally going to win…" He growled, biting a hunk of chocolate off of the bar in his hand, "I'm going to kick your ass, Near."

"Please, try to save your comments for after the game. I believe your thoughts will change." He nearly added that three years previous, he was the champion in the All-British National Connect Four Championship. He'd even beaten L, a Connect Four master, once or twice.

"No, then I'll just be rubbing it in!" Mello hissed defensively, "Watch, Near, this game will be over within four turns!"

"If you say so, Mello." Near murmured, "Who will go first?" Really, Mello's attempts at fighting didn't perturb him. In fact, it actually calmed him, because the angrier that Mello became, the less rational he appeared to be.

"You can 'cause no matter what, I'm going to kick your ass!" This time, Near didn't bother even with a shrug or comeback. He merely picked up a red checker and dropped it into the center slot. Mello answered by dropping one of the black checkers into the end slot, farthest to the left.

"I'm going to win, this time." He said confidently. Near dropped a checker in the slot directly to the right of the one previous, while Mello continued contentedly to drop his into the same slot. At this point, Near smiled.

"What are you smirking about, Near?" snapped Mello. "You can't possibly think that you're going to win!" Pausing only for a moment, Near dropped his third checker into the slot to the right of the second.

"DAMN IT! What the hell, Near? You were cheating!" Regardless of where Mello placed his next checker, Near would still be able to win. Each side of the row was open, so he was still able to get Connect Four.

"I wasn't cheating," Near answered placidly. "You were watching me the entire time, so it wouldn't be possible for me to cheat. Maybe you weren't watching the game closely enough."

"I resign," Mello said angrily. Tossing the game at the wall.

"Well, I didn't know that was a part of the rules, but all right," Near said shrugging. "I win by default."

"You know that I can win any other time!" he snapped. "If you weren't cheating, I would have won this time." Near ignored the rest of the rant and instead began stacking up the checkers, strewn out on the ground, as he waited for the two other groups to finish.

Meanwhile, Matt and Matsuda, after reading the instructions for the fifth time (for Matsuda's sake, not Matt's) finally began their game. Matsuda eyeing a strong diagonal that he rather liked, his expression eager.

A moment later, Matt dropped his final checker in and smiled in satisfaction. "Connect five. Pwned." He replied in his same, cool tone. Matsuda looked crestfallen.

"But--but--but where did that piece come from?" Matt looked nonchalant.

"Out of the box. You weren't paying attention." With this, he glanced back at Mello, wondering if the other boy had paid enough attention. He heard a crash as Mello threw the game at the wall in frustration. Apparently, he hadn't. No surprise there. He turned back to Matsuda, who still looked quite depressed over his loss.

"Were you even paying attention when I read the directions five times?"

"Uhmm…. Not really." Matsuda admitted lamely. Matt smacked his forehead, not even bothering to respond to that. It took a true dumbass to be unable to comprehend the simple rules of Connect Four. (Or, in Matt's case, Connect Five.)

"How have the other games ended?" L glanced over at the others. Near was ignoring Mello, who was practically in a state of hysterics, and Matsuda was still gazing open-mouthed at Matt's Connect Five. Matt, of course, had gone back to adventure land with the Mario brothers.

Finally, there was the championship round between Matt and Near, for which the outcome was pretty much predetermined. Near, who was the champion of a tournament that many people didn't even know existed, was well-prepared for the battle against L's third successor. Matt, however, wasn't as interested in the upcoming match as he was in beating Bowser. (Why should he care, it was against Near, of all people?)

So, it was little surprise that five minutes later, Near, who seemed apathetic at first, shouted in triumph, while Matt only shrugged and went back to his video game.

"Next," Watari announced, emerging from the shadows in the corner, "We will play Monopoly."

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Baka: Well… Many inside jokes weren't included… SHUT UP ABOUT THE CHECKERS, KYOKA, WE CAN PUT THEM IN A LATER CHAPTER! ^_^; Anyway, what do you have to say for yourself?

Kyoka: It's almost six o' clock now. I'm going to bed, because I, like the good nerd I am, have a life. (I am going to play chess tomorrow, thank you very much!)

Baka: Yaoi doesn't count as a life?! Now I'm depressed, and I wish this damn virus pop-up would leave us the hell alone! It's annoying! Grrr… Fine, you go get your beauty rest… I'LL take the liberty… Er, HONOR, of posting this! Nyaahhh!


	2. Monopoly

Baka: Hot damn! 57 hits in less than 24 hours?! I feel special! Oh, and disclaimer, we don't own Monopoly, though we did play it recently.

Kyoka: I've only taken part in editing this chapter... Baka worked on it, for the most part. I've been losing sleep over a few of my own projects. (Warning: This isn't advised, as it causes dark circles under the eyes. And regrettably, only L can make that look attractive.)

Baka: Kyoka-chan... EVERYTHING looks attractive on L... We're just biased. Oh, and, Kyobaka will be striking again with a one-shot in the making!

Kyoka: Coming soon to a theatre near you!

Baka: You said Near... *drool*

Kyoka: As you might understand, I've recently given her a Near t-shirt for her birthday. Please excuse the obsession. Now, off with the ranting and on with the story!

* * *

The inevitable complaint that appears whenever Monopoly is present, came from Mello, who was still extremely miffed about his loss to Near. "Monopoly? That game takes too long!"

"It can be made shorter with more rules," Near murmured, his voice as monotone as ever. He didn't often play board games, as he would often prefer to play with his toys or complete a blank puzzle than play with the other children. He had, however, observed others playing Monopoly in the past, and noticed that there were many different rule variations.

Mello glared at Near, annoyed, "I _know _that, Near," The younger boy's name was said in a tine dripping with malice. "I know all of the variations, but no matter how you play it, it's always long!"Mello tapped his foot impatiently; he wasn't like Near, obsessed with puzzles, or Matt, obsessed with all things related to video games. He was obsessed with chocolate. It didn't take any patience to eat chocolate. He liked things to happen immediately. He glanced over at Matt, hoping for a bit of backup, and almost instantly received it.

"Mello's right," The redhead mumbled, knowing that Mello wanted him to speak without even looking up at him, "It is long, but the turns are short, so there's no time for Mario in between." He sighed and glanced up. It was clear that he didn't want to play either, but he didn't want to do anything that might question Watari's authority. Besides, what was left unspoken was that there wouldn't be time for _other _games--they'd be at it for hours.

"This game," L said softly, placing his thumb against his lips, "Is an excellent strategy game… I think this was a wise choice." If Monopoly had anything to do with team-building, only L was able to figure it out, and even for him, it was too hard to explain.

Misa began to slowly reach for the box, which Watari was in the process of organizing, but withdrew quickly when Light said, "Misa, drop it." She floated back to her place at his side.

"Ryuuzaki's right," Light agreed as everyone, with the obvious exception of Watari, ignored the girl, "Monopoly's all about strategy. Selecting what you do or don't want to buy, and whether or not to build houses or hotels-" Well, maybe Light understood L's logic-- a little bit --but still to the others, it was a little bit of a stretch to imagine that Monopoly involved _too _much strategy. Whomever landed on the Boardwalk and Park Place usually won, anyways.

L cut him off by stating, "I assume that, if Kira were playing Monopoly, he would probably attempt to gather all of the properties and build hotels on all of them." Of course, Kira would want to seek power. Kill everyone through the power of debt; that was the most logical strategy, at least for a mass-murderer of Kira's status.

"No offense, Ryuuzaki…. But isn't that the point of the game?" Matsuda questioned, glancing at him.

"It's a simple matter of-"

L was suddenly interrupted by Misa screaming, "I call the dog!" She grabbed the small, silver dog from within the box and held it up to the light, studying it in admiration. She jumped up and down in glee. "Yay! I got the dog~"

"What?! No fair! I wanted the dog!" Matsuda protested as she drew the small metal figure close to her chest. Matsuda made a grab for it, but she slipped away so that she stood beside Light, yet again.

"Matsu, I got the puppy first." Misa stated, trying to act mature. Matt had put his game away, finally interested in the conversation.

"But-"

"Matsuda, just let her have it," Light mumbled, "There are plenty of other pieces to choose from."

"Yay! I knew you loved me, Raito-kun!" Misa exclaimed happily, snuggling into her 'boyfriend's' arm.

Light began to reach for the jockey as L began to speak once more. "Kira would most likely also choose the jockey. The thought of being in control of something, even just a horse, is tempting to Kira."

Light glared at him, "Ryuuzaki, it's not a real horse."

"I'm aware of that fact, Raito-kun," He said quietly, "But the concept in itself is what is important." Despite this, Light plucked the jockey out of the box.

Matt began to reach for the car, but, when Mello got to it first, he took the iron instead. There was no point in fighting over a Monopoly piece. Near took the thimble as L lifted the money bag awkwardly with two fingers, "Watari? Will you be playing this time?"

"No," The senior replied, "I will play as the banker." With this, he began passing out the colorful cash.

Several turns passed, and finally, the entire group (with the exceptions of Mello and Light, who were in jail) reached the final stretch of the board. Naturally from this point until they got to the "GO" square, everyone was silently competing for the Boardwalk and Park Place monopoly. As it turned out, Matt was the one to land on Boardwalk, though he was pretty much indifferent to the fact that he had. He bought it anyway, deciding that, if nothing else, someone would want to trade it for something valuable. As the group began their trip around again, Mello landed on Park Place. Naturally, he purchased it, then instantly turned to Matt. "What do you want for Boardwalk?"

Matt considered this for a moment before shrugging, "I'll take Mediterranean Avenue, five bucks and a pack of cigarettes." Everyone in the room stared.

"Umm… Matt? There aren't cigarettes in this game." Matsuda stated somewhat confused by the request.

"I know that, I want real smokes... Mello?" Matt locked eyes with his friend, who was contemplating whether or not to agree. Smoking was one of Matt's flaws, in Mello's eyes. For a moment, the boy paused, an angry glare forming in his eyes--he always hated it when Matt smoked, but... Well, he really wanted the Boardwalk. The idea was tempting.

"Fine," Mello consented after a few minutes of thought, "I'll get you some later." He handed a grinning Matt the deed to Mediterranean Avenue and took Boardwalk from him.

"Eww! Aren't you a bit young to smoke?" Misa asked, looking a bit disgutsed by the thought.

"Aren't you a bit young to be a slut?" Mello countered. Though he didn't approve of the habit either, he still felt the need to defend Matt. Nobody else was _allowed _to insult him, especially not somebody as air-headed as Misa Amane.

"Hey! I am not! I only have one boyfriend, and that's Raito-kun!" Misa snapped, clinging onto Light's arm again. She pledged her allegience to him, and Light looked slightly horrified at the idea of spending 'forever' with the clingy girl.

"That's not what your outfit says." He mumbled defensively, taking a bite of chocolate as he watched Misa look over her skin-tight leather outfit.

"It's no different than yours!" She argued, "And at least I don't have a boy's haircut!"

Matt sighed, deciding that this wouldn't go anywhere good. "Mello-"

"What are you trying to say? I-"

"Mello, please refrain from bullying Amane-san." L murmured, taking the die from Near's hands. (Near was playing with them.)

Mello fell silent, averting his gaze to the floor. Being scolded by L was one of the worst possible punishments he could think of. Next to the banning of chocolate, of course. "Sorry, L…" He mumbled. Matt glanced over at his friend with a grateful smile.

L didn't seem to acknowledge the apology as he cast the die back down to the game board. As he moved the moneybag across ten spaces, Mello began counting his colorful money, obviously trying to figure out how many houses he could buy with it. When it was finally his turn again, Mello purchased one house for each property, and decided that he would save the rest by nor buying any more properties. He knew that if he did this, he would be able to purchase more houses later, and, eventually, hotels. By the third time that Mello went around the game board, he had earned enough money from rent, passing go, and the one time that he landed on free parking to buy two hotels, which he placed on Boardwalk and Park Place. Matt, who's piece had been the closest to the new danger zone, landed on Boardwalk, the same property he had traded to Mello earlier. "I'm out," Matt mumbled, not bothering to count his money as he passed all of it, along with his property deeds, to his friend.

Mello accepted the payment, though he was clearly quite unhappy about it, and organized all of it in his row of money. On that very same turn, Misa landed on Park Place, and also went bankrupt, though she, unlike Matt whe had simply gone pack to playing Mario, began to whine. "Mello, that's not fair! You shouldn't even have Boardwalk! You and Matt were cheating!"

Watari, after glancing over the directions, stated, "The rules state that, as long as the trade is accepted by both parties, it is legal to make a trade."

Misa frowned, pouting, "But not for real items! That's unfair!"

"There is nothing against the use of real items." Watari said quietly, rolling the die for himself as Misa handed all of her money and properties to Mello. After Light, Matsuda, and L all met the same fate, Light finally glanced over at L, noticing that Mello's pile of property deeds was steadily growing.

"Ryuuzaki, according to your theory, isn't Mello a Kira suspect now?" Light asked, rather elated to be able to use L's weapon against him.

"No, Raito-kun," L said softly, "Mello is not Kira. If he were, he wouldn't be killing criminals..." He let his thought end there, assuming that Near would be his first victim rather than an actual criminal.

Near rolled the die for the last time, as he finally landed on Park Place. Mello grinned, glaring at his enemy, "I win, Near." He growled as Near passed Mello the money.

Matt glanced up from his game at last, a small smile coming to his lips. He'd been able to help Mello beat Near... Even if it was only at a children's game, he had still been useful. That in itself was better than the deal for cigarettes.

"Congratulations," Near murmured, not really caring. He neglected to see the significance of this minor feat.

Mello's glare became even more prominent as he growled, "You _lost, _Near." He pointed at the boy gleefully.

"It's rude to point," Misa muttered under her breath. Everyone ignored her, including Mello.

"I am aware," Near confirmed, "It was implied when you announced that you won."

Mello bit down on his chocolate, annoyed. He wanted to say something witty in reply to this, but, unfortunately, he realized, even though he had won, he had lost. Near would always win arguments, and that would never change.

"So, next" L said quickly, hoping to relieve the tension (there was an obvious electricity in the air), "We'll play Battleship."


	3. Battleship

Kyoka: Two updates in one night? This is tiring!

Baka: I'm psyched! Kyoka, do you know? L is a genius!!!

Kyoka: No. I thought that he liked apples. No, that's shinigami, I guess.

Baka: He saved What if L Never Died?! I luffles himmm! Even though stupid Light looked Korean, unlike the rest of the cast, I'm really happy that you brought live-action Death Note! *Glomp*

Kyoka: -snores- If I don't fall asleep at this computer, maybe we'll figure out this one-shot. However, it seems that I've forgotten the details in my fatigue... On with the story.

* * *

"Battle Ship?" Mello questioned. This was a game he could actually get excited about. To him, violence was always the answer, and if he got to play against Near… That would be fun. Unlike the other games, this time, he was _sure_ that he would be able to win.

"Yes," L replied softly. "We will pair everyone with different partners and do a bracket tournament again. This is a true game of strategy."

Mello bit off a chunk of chocolate. The one time he actually wanted to be with Near… "What will the groupings be?" Near asked, twirling a white strand of hair around his finger.

"You will be with Watari," L began, "I will be with Matsuda, Matt will be with Misa, and Mello will be with Light." Everyone was silent for a moment until L suggested, "Shall we begin?" This was met with no verbal response, but everyone paired up and went to their separate tables.

Near and Watari settled into their seats and began to set up their ships. The game didn't last long--only about ten minutes--and Near was the victor, losing only his patrol boat in the process. Not being one to rub his victories in his opponent's face, Near began to play with the ships. Watari, who was far too mature to complain, excused himself from the room, returning several minutes later with sugary snacks for L.

Matsuda was excited. He was certain that he could win this game, as most of it was luck anyways. He set his ships up in such a way that they formed a smiley face, then glanced up at L, beaming proudly. The more times that L fired, however, the smaller that proud smile became. Every time L hit one of his ships without fail, and every time, Matsuda missed. Until the very end, that is. He finally struck one of L's ships, but unfortunately he struck in every direction except the way the boat was, and before he could strike again, L had won.

Matt and Misa's game took quite a while. Matt had to read the directions three times to Misa, and even after that, he had to explain the setup of the game to her, as she was moving the pieces upon every turn. When they finally began, it didn't take Matt long to figure out the configuration of Misa's ships. She had placed them all together in the center of her board, making it very easy for Matt to move from one ship to another, destroying everything in his pass. Misa, dumbstruck, stared at Matt when she finally realized she was losing. "You must be cheating," she accused, "You saw my board, didn't you? How are you hitting my ships every time?"

"Your setup is so predictable that it's not even funny," Matt replied easily, dodging the accusation. "You placed them all together in rows in the center of the board. Because I went straight across them and didn't sink a single ship, it's obvious, even the aircraft carrier isn't that long."

After counting the slots on what she believed was the 'aircraft carrier', she announced, "It's not! It only has two-"

"That's the patrol boat." Matt told her with a somewhat annoyed sigh. It was starting to become apparent to him why the phrase 'dumb blonde' was used so often. Mello obviously didn't fit that stereotype…. But Misa, it seemed, was the reason why it started.

Misa, frowning, asked, "then which one is the aircraft carrier?"

Mat pointed to the diagram on the instructions, showing her the boat labeled 'aircraft carrier.' "It's the biggest one. It has to be, because if it were small like the patrol boat, it wouldn't be able to hold, let alone land a plane." He needed a cigarette. This was getting too ridiculous. How many things did he have to explain to this stupid girl? True, before he had thought she was cute, but now she was just annoying.

"I don't think I have one of those." Misa announced, adding to Matt's annoyance. His usual cool demeanor was beginning to wear off.

"You do, I checked to make sure-"

"So you did see my pieces! Cheater!"

"That was before you put them down." Matt continued before completely blocking her voice from his head as he told her where he wanted to shoot next. And people say video games were good for nothing. How else was he supposed to perfect the aft of selective hearing? He smiled to himself at the thought as he finally finished off his opponent, vowing never to play against Misa again.

Mello was determined to win. He was almost positive that Near had won against Watari, and if Matt lost to Misa, he had no place in Wammy's. He was far too intelligent to lose to the likes of her… But now, Mello didn't make it, he would be the only one of L's three successors to lose. That would be a blow to his pride. He knew that Light was smart, but since the game was based on both luck and strategy, he hoped that he would get lucky… And he did. Kira or not, it seemed that Light was unable to win this game. Unfortunately for him, plastic boats had neither a name or a face. The game was very close, but in the end, Mello won, and celebrated by nomming chocolate… Which he would've done anyway. After a few moments, L questioned, "Is everyone ready for the next match?"

"Very well. In this next round, I will play Near and Matt will play Mello." He didn't see Mello punch his fist in the air as a gesture of victory. Matt would let him win if he wanted to, and he would be able to play Near in the final round… well, if he, by some miracle, won against L. "Let's begin, everyone."

Everyone grabbed a game and went to play. Light sat in a corner, morose because, even in Battleship, he hated to lose--especially to a child. Misa cuddled against his arm. Her opponent had been so mean, she thought! How dare he outwit her! Didn't he know who she was? Either way, she was still content with cuddling up against her boyfriend's arm. L was munching away happily at a nice, frosted cookie that Watari had brought for him while he arranged his ships in the perfect strategic position that he _knew _Near would never guess--a position that was neither obvious nor out of the ordinary, and something that couldn't be deduced by mathematical equations. Near, looking bored, arranged his ships in a more random manner than his mentor. Then again, doing a random set-up would prevent L from deducing his way into predicting the set-up.

Matt, knowing that Mello wanted to win, decided to do the most obvious think of: a straight line, symbolizing a cigarette, running across the "C" line, for "cigarette.," as well as the "D" line for "death," as Mello liked to point out, cigarettes tended to cause early deaths. Mello was clever enough to catch on to that. Besides, he would be sure to drop some hints beforehand… And if it looked like Matt was getting too far ahead, he would simply select a random place, far away from whatever ship he had been attacking. "Mello…" He mumbled, glancing up at his friend with a mischievous look in his eyes, though, of course, the expression was hidden by his golden goggles. "I need a cigarette. That game with Misa wore me out."

"You're going to have to wait, Matt." Mello mumbled, but, the more he thought about this sentence, the more he began to wonder. He finally looked up at Matt, who was smiling slightly. Yes, that was what he had meant by it. Giving Matt a knowing look, he selected C-1 as his first attack point… Naturally, this was a hit. The game didn't last long… And if anyone had been watching, it would've been obvious what had happened… But nobody was. Their secret would remain their own. Matt would always help Mello, even if it meant getting himself hurt in the process.

Near and L were just about neck and neck. They both seemed to have memorized the other's hand movements as they placed the pieces, so they both seemed to know a general area of where all of the other's ships lie. Of course, there were a few misses from both parties, but, in the end, it all came down to one more ship for each of them. L had to strike the second slot of Near's patrol boat, and Near had to strike the fifth and final slot of L's aircraft carrier… But L made a fatal mistake. He aimed to the space just to the right of the ship, when, in reality, it had been the left side that he needed to attack, while Near hit the final piece of L's carrier. The results were actually quite shocking to most of the others… But they all understood. It seemed that Near was even craftier than L himself.

"Mello," L called softly, "Have you finished your game?" He had already assumed that the blonde had won… He understood their relationship, and knew that Matt would allow Mello to win, even if he should've been the victor.

"Yeah, I won." He replied, standing.

"Big surprise there, cheaters." Misa said loudly, from the safety of Light's arms, still annoyed at both of them. She was ignored, however.

"You will be playing against Near then." L announced as Watari began to clear the game boards.

Mello stared at his rival for a moment. _Near_ beat _L? _The concept was difficult for him to grasp (It really must have been by some miracle), but, nonetheless… It meant that he was able to face Near in a violent game, just as he had hoped. "Mello," Near murmured, "This is what you wanted all along, isn't it?"

Mello glared at Near, hating the fact that he was so easily able to analyze his actions. "That's not your business," He growled defensively, sitting down in L's former chair, "All you need to know is that I will win this time."

A small smile came to the boy's face, "I accept your challenge." He said softly before setting up his pieces. Again, the game was extremely close… But Mello, it seemed, was too easily distracted by Near's antics. Every time Near lost one of his ships, he would pull it out of it's slot and play with it…And every time he did this, Mello became even more annoyed, bothered that Near was not at all bothered by the fact that he had lost a ship. As Mello became more annoyed at what Near was doing, his judgmental abilities weakened, and, like L, his fatal flaw was that he had gone to the wrong side of Near's ship on the very last turn. Near had won, yet again… But this time, Mello did not complain. There was no point, he figured… If Near could be so calm about losing in Monopoly, he had no reason to be excited about losing in Battleship… No matter how much he hated the thought.

Mello stormed out of the room to find _some _way to vent his emotions while Near, unperturbed, played with one of the battleships absentmindedly.

"Well," Light said this time, " I guess Mario Karts next."

"Yes!" Matt shouted in victory. Finally, payoff for helping Mello.


End file.
